 I’ve got many fellow Ironheads in Coeur d’Alene right now getting ready to take on Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday. Among them are my good friends Greg, Troy, Linda, & David. I hope the Weather Gods smile on them on Sunday unlike how they dumped on me last Saturday at Boise Ironman 70.3. (Oh, and here are some pics of me in action at Boise. See if you can see the Michael Jordan inspired pose?!) Right now it looks like they may have some morning showers so hopefully the rest of the day brings good conditions, fast times, and PR’s. As for me, this has been a “recovery” week from the race but even so I’ve been hitting the SBR training pretty well to begin the ramp up to Ironman Canada in August. I backed off the bike and run a bit but hit the pool pretty hard for some “active recovery.” Here are the recaps…
Tuesday began with an early morning spin on the bike trainer to start loosening the legs up a bit. No intervals, no big-gear grinding, just steady-state spinning at a moderate effort level. Then at lunch time I headed out for a run on the hilly office route. Why do the first couple of runs post-race suck so much? I hate that. But it was still nice to be outside on a warm and sunny day for a run. And I got to wear some brand new Asics GT-2140’s so I had that going for me.
Stats for Tuesday’s bike: 15.8-miles in 1-hour.
Stats for Tuesday’s run: 6.2-miles in 49:19 @ 7:57/m pace.
Wednesday was only a swim day and only a medium-distance one at that. Too bad it had to take place at 5:00am which never fails to suck or ever get any easier, but swim I did. I pushed the tempo a bit and felt great in the water today. It’s amazing how much better one swims when the goggles don’t leak and stay in place. I wish I could have enjoyed that in Boise!
Stats for Wednesday’s swim: 2,800-yards in 52:35 (54:20 w/rest) 7x400 w/15-sec. rests.
Thursday was a pretty big training day but spread throughout the day so it wasn’t too tough. It started in the pool at 5:00am and this time it was a long, long swim done with longer sets. The lunch time run was also a bit longer than usual but I did refrain from any speedwork which would normally be on the Thursday run menu. I kept it easy and steady again and it was again nice outside, if not a bit on the warm side. And lastly, that evening I climbed on the bike once again for another steady-effort session with the pace being pushed only a little.
Stats for Thursday’s swim: 3,600-yards in 1:11:45 (1:13 w/rest) 6x600 w/15-sec. rests.
Stats for Thursday’s run: 8.2-miles in 1:07:39 @ 8:15/m pace.
Stats for Thursday’s bike: 24.2-miles in 1:30 @ 16.3-mph.
And finally, today I was once more in the pool at 5:00am for yet another long-ass swim. I think I may have been a bit more tire than I thought I was because I just never felt like I ever got into a nice smooth rhythm. But I got it done nonetheless. And at lunch time I was outside for another midday run that featured some sunshine, some rain, some wind, some warmth, some coolness…a little potpourri of all things weather, almost. The legs felt better today and in fact they felt better than the ending pace would indicate. I must still be in recovery mode for sure.
Stats for Friday’s swim: 3,500-yards in 1:09:32 (1:10:32 w/rest) 7x500 w/15-sec. rests.
Stats for Friday’s run: 6.2-miles in 50:27 @ 8:08/m pace.
This weekend’s long ride and long run will be a bit on the lighter side as far as Ironman training is concerned, but just fine as far as half-Ironman race recovery is concerned. Best of luck to all the Ironman Coeur d’Alene athletes on Sunday! Regardless of what the day brings remember Anything Is Possible.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend… 
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Tuesday began with an early morning spin on the bike trainer to start loosening the legs up a bit. No intervals, no big-gear grinding, just steady-state spinning at a moderate effort level. Then at lunch time I headed out for a run on the hilly office route. Why do the first couple of runs post-race suck so much? I hate that. But it was still nice to be outside on a warm and sunny day for a run. And I got to wear some brand new Asics GT-2140’s so I had that going for me.
Stats for Tuesday’s bike: 15.8-miles in 1-hour.
Stats for Tuesday’s run: 6.2-miles in 49:19 @ 7:57/m pace.
Wednesday was only a swim day and only a medium-distance one at that. Too bad it had to take place at 5:00am which never fails to suck or ever get any easier, but swim I did. I pushed the tempo a bit and felt great in the water today. It’s amazing how much better one swims when the goggles don’t leak and stay in place. I wish I could have enjoyed that in Boise!
Stats for Wednesday’s swim: 2,800-yards in 52:35 (54:20 w/rest) 7x400 w/15-sec. rests.
Thursday was a pretty big training day but spread throughout the day so it wasn’t too tough. It started in the pool at 5:00am and this time it was a long, long swim done with longer sets. The lunch time run was also a bit longer than usual but I did refrain from any speedwork which would normally be on the Thursday run menu. I kept it easy and steady again and it was again nice outside, if not a bit on the warm side. And lastly, that evening I climbed on the bike once again for another steady-effort session with the pace being pushed only a little.
Stats for Thursday’s swim: 3,600-yards in 1:11:45 (1:13 w/rest) 6x600 w/15-sec. rests.
Stats for Thursday’s run: 8.2-miles in 1:07:39 @ 8:15/m pace.
Stats for Thursday’s bike: 24.2-miles in 1:30 @ 16.3-mph.
And finally, today I was once more in the pool at 5:00am for yet another long-ass swim. I think I may have been a bit more tire than I thought I was because I just never felt like I ever got into a nice smooth rhythm. But I got it done nonetheless. And at lunch time I was outside for another midday run that featured some sunshine, some rain, some wind, some warmth, some coolness…a little potpourri of all things weather, almost. The legs felt better today and in fact they felt better than the ending pace would indicate. I must still be in recovery mode for sure.
Stats for Friday’s swim: 3,500-yards in 1:09:32 (1:10:32 w/rest) 7x500 w/15-sec. rests.
Stats for Friday’s run: 6.2-miles in 50:27 @ 8:08/m pace.
This weekend’s long ride and long run will be a bit on the lighter side as far as Ironman training is concerned, but just fine as far as half-Ironman race recovery is concerned. Best of luck to all the Ironman Coeur d’Alene athletes on Sunday! Regardless of what the day brings remember Anything Is Possible.